Liv's latest adventure around the globe

Indeed, it seems that most relationships don’t even last a year that it’s important to celebrate monthsary instead. I hope it won’t be the same in terms of working relationships since I’m about to celebrate my 4th month in the bank. It's just celebrating another milestone in my life, of deciding to be back in the Philippines after all these years of wandering around.

It took me all this time to write down something on how it is to be back. I needed this much time to answer that simple question, since most of my impressions on the first few weeks were mere symptoms of reverse culture shock. I was easily irritated with traffic, pollution, over population and the concept of time. All these things are normal situations to the Philippine environment where I have been accustomed in the past 24 years of my life. It was challenging but interesting to actually experience this myself and have some realisations in the end.

There were various occasions when I was very much ahead of time. So much that I had to wait for two hours before my friends arrive. Then it had to be connected with the heavy flow of traffic, parking slots were full or the simple fact that the meeting time was meant to be an hour later than the agreed time. I have started to be more flexible with friends and changed my mindset of being “on time”. Also, I organized parties at my apartment instead so that there is no rush in making it to your reservation or losing the table that you’ve been trying to save. Instead, I was able to relax at the convenience of my home, and just wait for people to arrive. I relieved myself from being stressed to being able to work on things within my control.

Now I can say more about my role, the scope of my department and the industry I belong to. My role encompasses different aspects of the bank, especially when you're pertaining to their learning and development within the organisation. I am now assigned to run the induction programme but before that I had to do a lot of preparation for me understand the depth of what I will be teaching. It was easy for me to relate to my days in AIESEC, when we were talking about history, vision, values, organization. It’s somehow part of the basics that you have to teach a new hire, but vital to their induction to the company.

I’ve been enjoying it so far, especially the fact that most of these students are the younger generation. I don’t feel old at all, just a bit wiser. ☺ Apart from that, it has also been interesting to take part in some projects that will increase the scope of learning. It is never confined inside the classroom, so I’ve been trying to understand the realm of online technology, offsite activities, on the job training and various methods by which we can expand people’s capability.

I arrived at the right time when there are various reunions and get-togethers during the Christmas season. From college to grade school friends, I was able to meet all my friends and this time it was not for a limited period anymore. There were also various gatherings organized by my previous organizations from simple after-work drinks to some ballroom dancing. The common denominator was of course the amount of food and alcohol I was able to consume in those 2 months. Good thing we also had our company Christmas party, where new hires are required to perform. We had dance practices every night so the amount of food I consume were burned during those practices.

I was at home for the first two months, enjoying time with my family and home cooked food. I needed that time to adjust and it was great to have the support of my family. I didn’t have to worry about doing my laundry, cleaning or even commuting to work.

Then I had to make a decision that entailed careful consideration for my parents. Just to give you a background, it’s not common for Filipino children to move out of their parents' house unless they're getting married. Since I am not rushing for any marriage soon, I had to make an arrangement that will allow me to live alone.

It was easy when I left the country. I simply had to live within my budget to survive. It wasn’t just a whim. Surprisingly, I enjoyed being able to budget and see the value of money.

This time, I thought about how my life had changed since then. Back in college, life was predictable with schedules to follow, classes end on time, then someone can pick me up. My first month, I sometimes had my mom waiting for me to finish my work and I didn’t even know if I’d be able to finish it at 6pm. I also had to be practical in terms of time and money, since it was not really commuter friendly from my home and it would have been too expensive to take a cab everyday. Since we had an empty flat just near my office, I thought of playing the guardian of the place.

It’s a manageable space that I can do the household chores myself, and still commute to work without having to spend so much time and money. I used to still go home for my laundry, then decided that I can have the laundry services and do the ironing myself. Life indeed has become interesting once again. It probably has been a bit tiring to do the logistics, but little by little my small space is starting to have the basic stuff. The most important so far has been connecting to the internet and getting a new laptop. That’s definitely one of my survival gears.

Even before I officially moved in to my new place, I’ve already had a couple of gatherings with family and friends. My AIESEC friends back in university organized a Mad Hatters' Christmas party, while we party til morning and have a movie marathon afterwards. I've also spent great time catching up with my highschool friends and ex-MC team in AIESEC either for a swim or drinking just like the old days. My family spent New Year’s Eve here just looking at the fireworks from the 11th floor, where we had a good view of the city. There’s more to come and everyone’s welcome to visit Manila in 2008.

That’s about 3 months of my life back home. I am starting to get used to writing in my blog again even now that I’m back in the Philippines. The buildings or sceneries may not be something new, but I’ll start to write again based on my observations of how different life has been. A lot of my friends think I’ve really been away for so long since I’m mostly clueless about the latest nightlife. Well, even in that area I should start relearning and share my tips for globe trotters like you who’s decided to move back home too. Until then!